Good morning, everyone! I am writing this from my local airport lounge, waiting for my flight this morning to San Francisco! Figured I’d take advantage of the downtime (and free WiFi!) and see if I could throw together a little post! I feel like a big part of the reason why I stopped posting as much was because there is so much EFFORT that goes into it – I have this weird need for them to be long and therefore “worth it,” (and a long post takes a really long time to write!) but really, short posts are better than no posts… right? I don’t want to let my blog die!
Another reason why I post less is because I really seem to have hit a hard rut with photos. I just really hate taking them, I feel like they always look shitty and I honestly don’t know how to improve them (one would think that standing in the same spot where I take my dressform photos would work, but nope, sadly not the case). I snapped these very quickly using the self-timer on my phone, right before I took a walk down the block to my local cookie shop (oh yeah). The lighting isn’t great and I have my shades on, but… whatever. It’ll do!
Anyway – the dress! I made this little denim sundress a few months ago, one last dress hurrah for summer. The pattern is the Deer & Doe Centaurée dress, which I loved when was first released – it’s a great little basic sundress with some fun details that make it a little more interesting. The bodice shaping is created with interesting seamlines that form a star (y’all know how I feel about a good star), and the edges are finished with a self bias binding that turns into double straps (a super cute detail IMHO but definitely requires no bra or a strapless bra to get the full effect – fwiw, I am bra-less in these photos). The skirt is a simple gathered skirt – no pockets, but I was able to easily add some simple patch pockets.
I cut a size 36 at the bust, grading out to a 38 at the waist and hip. No other alterations were necessary, which is good because I totally threw caution to the wind and make this up without first sewing a muslin 
haha! Like I mentioned, I did add patch pockets – simple squares (I think I took the pattern piece off my Ariana Dress but they can easily be drafted if you don’t have a pattern to steal from), to bring a little more interest down to an otherwise plain skirt and to also incorporate more topstitching. Everything else about this dress is exactly as the pattern intended!
My fabric is a lightweight denim from Mood Fabrics. I found this in the store while I was in NYC – I was actually looking for bottomweight to make a pair of jeans with, but this was too good to pass up. It’s a fine, lightweight Japanese denim that is very narrow (like less than 45″). This denim on the Mood Fabrics website appears to be very similar, although it’s a little wider. I originally purchased this with the intention of making a shirtdress – I specifically had a Colette Hawthorn dress in mind, to replace my beloved denim Hawthorn that no longer fits – but decided to try something a little different than my norm SINCE I MAKE SO MANY DAMN SHIRTS.
Sewing this fabric was super easy, as most denims are! I used two sewing machines to construct this – one threaded with regular polyester thread, and the second threaded with topstitching thread (you can totally do this one with machine if you don’t mind re-threading over and over!). I chose to highlight all those interesting seamlines with gold topstitching thread, which makes it look more like a pair of jeans, just reincarnated as a dress. All seams are finished with my serger (the multitude of intersecting seamlines on the bodice + the gathered skirt would have made it difficult to flat fell, plus, I wanted the option to be able to let out or take in areas since, again, I did not make a mock-up), and I used self-binding to finish the edges of the bodice as instructed by the pattern.
The dress closes with an invisible zipper on the side seam. Here’s a fun fact – the only zipper I had in my stash was off-white, and I didn’t feel like going to the shop to grab another one in the right color (another fun fact – I live 3 blocks from one fabric store, and less than a mile from a much bigger one so I absolutely have no valid excuse, #teamlazy)… so there is a off-white invisible zipper in this dress. You’d never guess it unless you see the zipper pull, which is located under my armpit, and I take a lot of pride in this. Not to toot my own horn, but hell yea my invisible zipper game is strong. You can’t even see that shit.
The skirt is finished with a wide hem – I wanted mine shorter than the pattern is drafted for, and I like the way the wide hem looks with the topstitching + pockets. Plus, it will be easy to let the hem out if I decide I want a longer skirt in the future (whether or not that will actually ever happen is up for debate, but at least I have options now!).
As a side note, the patch pockets on this dress are perfectly sized to hold a Christie Cookie… speaking from experience here. And! After I finished taking this photos and took my walk, I ran into the sweetest little cat:
That’s all for this make! Admittedly, we are a little late in the season now for a sundress (Tennessee appears to have completely skipped fall and jumped straight into early winter… wah!), but if I was a cooler person I could totally rock this with a white t-shirt underneath. Alas, my inner Cher Horowitz definitely won’t be making an appearance, but I do think this dress would look cool with a cropped sweater over it (like my Chuck!). So, sundress or not, this can definitely be a transitional garment!
Anyway, I’m out! Berkeley, I will see you soon! For those of y’all in the area – Stone Mountain & Daughter Fabrics is hosting a meet-up tonight at 5:30PM. Full details are on my IG 🙂
** Note: The fabrics used in this post were provided to me by Mood Fabrics, in exchange for my participation in the Mood Sewing Network. All opinions, as always, are my own!
LLADYBIRD 
Wow! What an adorable dress! I love the details in the bodice. You did a fantastic job!
Thank you!!
I love a good calico cat! She/he looks just like my first cat, Quinn, that fearlessly moved half-way cross countryby car with me in 1982. Also – love the dress!
Calico cats are the best! Much sweeter than their tortie sisters 🙂
I’m reading it from MY airport lounge!!!
See you at 5:30😘
Yay!! We are gonna have the best weekend!!
Your are too critical of your photos, but I notice that most bloggers are. I think most of us are impressed that anyone blogs since there is a time commitment, so really all I want to see are the kind of pictures in this post, along with any really important construction pics. Your pictures are fine, and your dress is very cute. Enjoy the west coast! And thanks for continuing to blog.
Well thank you! I guess I feel a little insecure because most of what I see on blogs is very clear and beautiful, and mine generally aren’t (and while I don’t typically get complaints, I have gotten a couple that said they weren’t “interesting”… which is kind of a shitty thing to complain about). As long as the details can be seen, that is enough for me!
I agree wholeheartedly with everything Becki said. Your photos are just fine and I greatly enjoyed your post and closeups. Enjoy the Bay Area!
Thank you!! Already been here a few hours and absolutely loving it!
Details make the dress and you make the details! Great job as usual, especially precision top stitching and fabric/pattern matching. I’m here for the pictures, reviews of the fabric and patterns. Posts don’t have to be long to be worthwhile! Long live sewing blogs! Thank you for sharing and I agree, you invisible zip skills are tops!
Thank you! I agree – long live sewing blogs! Let’s strive to keep them going forever 🙂
I love these photos! They make me feel like I just bumped into you outside your house and you were excited to show me your new dress. I really love it when sewing photos give a glimpse of what the garment means and how it fits into the story of the day. Thank you!
Thank you! I like this response 🙂
– yay, post-of-any-kind
– what (on earth) bad photos are you talking about, haha (however I never like my own either, so I disagree w/ your premise while still sort of understanding it)
– hello, dear kitty 😀
– I actually like the white zipper pull (blue & white is always nice)
– RIP Hawthorn 😦 (one of my favorite patterns you’ve posted)
– stupid question from zero experience: how do side zippers help, since isn’t the dress sewn shut above & below it?
Not a stupid question! The dress is sewn above and below the zipper, so while you do have to shimmy into it, it’s easier if the waist can be opened with the zipper. Pulling it on will mess up your hair, though, so if you hate that can you can always convert it to be a center back zipper 🙂
super cute, I have to remember this pattern when sundress weather returns here. And I love a star seam effect too! or any interesting seaming. really nice.
Thank you! I am definitely a sucker for interesting seaming, and this pattern is a great example of it!
Screw “interesting” perfect pictures. I’m here for the clothes, sewing info and inspiration and your funny comments. It’s good to see the garments just as they are in daily life, instead of some glossed over picture which might hide issues. It helps me decide if it is something I’m interested in sewing!!!
And the pictures are really fine to begin with! Cute dress, insane zipper action and love the bonus kitty!!!
Thank you!
Very well executed, as always. If you decide you want to match that zipper to the color of the dress you can totally paint that pull with some nail polish! It works beautifully and it’s a durable solution.
Oh yeah I’ve definitely done that to invisible zippers in the past!
Love the detailing of the dress front and the straps. BTW, I only recently joined your blog, and one day I read through all of the past posts. The pictures of your sewing rooms inspired me to re-organize my own sewing room. It simply hasn’t worked for me after I divided it in half to give my husband desk space. But now it looks less cluttered, and I have more table space around my machine. I’m even thinking that I can add a cutting table, now, which would be so much better than using the top of my bed. So, thank you!
Awesome! I’m so glad you found those posts helpful and that you were able to get your room to work great for you!
Great dress! I really like the wid hem, the proportions are perfect. Do you find that invisible zippers on mid-weight fabrics work well? I’m worried that they might not be strong enough
It depends on the fabric and whether or not the garment is super fitted. This isn’t a mid-weight fabric, it is more on the light side, and an invisible zipper works fine.
You are awesome and I love reading your post. Your photo are great, and I like your personnality, so who care about a shady photo once in a while! I look at the patron and didn’t like the dress at all, but since I look at your… well, I need one for next summer! Thank for the blog, I really appreciate it !
If the off-white zipper pull bothers you, just get a navy blue sharpee and color it. Plus, if someone’s hanging out in your armpit like that, they’re probably not going to be that concerned with the color of your hidden zipper…
Oh Lauren! This is so cool! Loving this denim version.